Staff in shape for Indians rematch

Sox pitchers improve after 2-game debacle to open the season

April 13, 2007|By Mark Gonzales, Tribune staff reporter.

It's too early to declare this weekend's series in Cleveland an opportunity for payback, but the White Sox believe they can perform more successfully than they did in their opening series against the Indians.

"We've pitched better since the last game against them," manager Ozzie Guillen said, pointing to a staff ERA of 2.01 since the Indians had 20 runs and 26 hits in beating the Sox in the first two games of the season.

"We haven't hit the way we thought we were going to hit yet, and we still hang in there. When the bats come out alive and we continue to pitch like that, you'll see what it takes."

The Sox's confidence has soared with the pitching staff rebounding after the two losses to the Indians. In Wednesday's comeback victory in Oakland, Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko broke out of slumps with timely hits.

Guillen wouldn't say if harsh comments directed toward starters Jose Contreras and Jon Garland ignited the transformation, but the two rebounded well in their outings against Oakland.

Contreras is scheduled to pitch Sunday against the Indians after Javier Vazquez and rookie left-hander John Danks try to duplicate their impressive first outings against the defending American League Central champion Twins.

"Like I told the guys, we're not that good," Guillen said. "We have to push the button a little bit harder. I was sending a message to the guys, not to [bad-mouth] them, but `Hey, I'm tired of that [stuff] because we didn't play well in spring training.' I'm not going to carry this thing all the way through the season. I can't handle that. If we play well and get beat, I can live with that. . . . If we don't have the talent, I'll say `OK, we don't have the talent.' [But] we have the talent, we should perform.

"That was my message. After the message it seems like we started to pitch better and play better. I talked to a couple of guys and said it wasn't a personal thing. I don't want to go into a game insecure as a manager, saying, `Oh, my God, I hope we score 10.' I want to believe I won't have to get someone up in the third inning. I don't want to feel that way. They shouldn't either."

As poorly as the Sox pitched in the first two games, they still had a chance to win two out of three against the Indians, losing 8-7 in the second game before pulling out a 4-3 victory to avert a three-game sweep.

Since then, the Indians have played only three games because of last weekend's home series postponement against the Mariners. Because of heavy snow in Cleveland, they had to travel to Milwaukee to play a three-game series against the Angels.

"With [Cliff] Lee coming back, they're going to be better," Guillen said. "But they have to deal with their pitching. I don't know about their schedule. They have all that [mess] they have, the [makeup games]. I don't know how that's going to affect them. But the American League Central should be fun because there's a lot of good talent. Every day's a battle. There's no place to relax in this league."

The Sox gained momentum in winning two of three in Oakland, where they had won only four times in their previous 27 games dating to 2001. The recent offensive revival and a pitching turnaround gave the Sox a better view of their potential.

"Maybe there's something to the teams still feeling themselves out, not knowing who they are yet," first baseman Paul Konerko said.